Harrison Barnes’ Contract Situation

The Golden State Warriors have offered 3rd year starting SF Harrison Barnes a four-year deal worth 64 million contract extension.

Via Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski: The Golden State Warriors delivered forward Harrison Barnes an initial four-year, $64 million contract extension proposal, league sources told Yahoo Sports. The $16 million annual offer wasn’t accepted, but appears to be a starting point in talks that could last until the Oct. 31 deadline for rookie extensions.

Being in your third year, only 23 years old and coming off a championship that would seem to be more than enough for a player of Barnes stature. However, Harrison himself may feel he’s worth more, that he deserves a bigger role and maybe feels he can be the centerpiece of a team and provide greater contributions. Maybe Paul George or Kawhi Leonard like in the long run. With the new TV deal set to kick in, teams will have more than enough money to offer the small forward from North Carolina.

Barnes has only missed 5 total games during his 3 year NBA career and played all 82 this season while averaging 10.1PPG and 5.5RPG.

Although Barnes didn’t immediately accept the offer, he has until October 31st to agree or he will be an Unrestricted Free Agent next summer. Which is just when the 2 Billion dollar TV deal will be kicking in and team Salary Cap will skyrocket. If Barnes holds out and bets on himself (like Jimmy Butler did), he maybe one of the top pursued free agents next Summer.

We’ll just have to wait and see what he decides. It would be a pretty big gamble, however young NBA players seem to like to take the roll of the dice. If he can stay healthy, remain productive and continue to get better it will definitely pay off. With off season videos of him in the weight room, working on his post game and 3 point shooting, it seems Harrison definitely believes in himself and his abilities.